Christopher Fink has had a change of heart.
After fighting kidnapping, assault and child abuse charges for more than a year, Fink accepted a plea bargain Wednesday afternoon in 3rd District Court.Fink pleaded guilty to child abuse, a second-degree felony, and attempted aggravated assault, a class A misdemeanor. In exchange for Fink's plea, prosecutors dropped a count of child kidnapping, a first-degree felony, and amended the child abuse count from a second-degree felony to a class A misdemeanor.
Fink and his wife, Kyndra, sparked a nationwide manhunt after they kidnapped their malnourished, 21-month-old son from Primary Children's Medical Center Sept. 19, 1998.
Police found the Finks 16 days later living in a tent in a remote part of the Beartooth Mountains about 48 miles southwest of Billings, Mont.
Since then, defense attorneys for the Finks had argued, among other things, that their religious beliefs were the catalyst that led the couple to feed their son a diet of only naturally grown fruits and vegetables, as well as kidnap David from the hospital.
Prosecutors said they finalized the plea offer the end of last week.
"I think that being in jail a long time can have an impact on a man," said prosecutor Dane Nolan. "It's sort of my sense he looked at it and wanted to get this part of his life behind him."
As part of the deal, prosecutors said they will recommend the two prison sentences run concurrently. Fink faces up to 15 years in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 7, 2000, but prosecutors said they will request he undergo a 90-day evaluation at January's sentencing.
Defense attorney David Biggs said Fink has been working on finishing his high school degree during the past 10 months he's been in the Salt Lake County Jail. During that time Biggs said Fink slowly learned that feeding his baby a fruitarian diet was the cause of the boy's malnourished condition.
Now Christopher Fink's estranged wife is left alone to battle the charges against her. In the plea affidavit read in court Wednesday, Christopher Fink indicated both he and his wife engaged in conduct that caused David's malnourishment and that the couple attempted to assault a Primary Children's Medical Center nurse with their car as she tried to stop the two from taking their son.
"The plea affidavit did talk about actions that he and she did engage in together," Nolan said.
So far, Kyndra Fink has not agreed to any plea bargains.
"There's not been any change in her position," said Kyndra Fink's defense attorney, Ed Brass. "I plan on there being a trial right now."
That trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 11, 2000. She is charged with child kidnapping, a first-degree felony, aggravated assault, a third-degree felony, and child abuse, a second-degree felony.
Lawyers from both sides said Christopher Fink's plea bargain does not include any agreement to testify against his wife.
"I think he's trying to distance himself as much as possible from taking responsibility and placing as much responsibility on her," Brass said. "Right now her position is that it's her intention to go to trial."
After the plea bargain was finalized the judge rejected the defense's request to reduce Christopher Fink's $100,000 bail.
Biggs said Fink wanted to take care of some personal matters before his sentencing.
Lawyers from both sides left the courtroom to speak with the judge in private about the bail reduction. Neither side would comment on the details of what was discussed.